15 Escape Room Tips and Tricks before you Play

Escape Rooms are not that easy as they seem to be. And to ace it in the first attempt, you really must be different. We’ve compiled our top 15 escape room tips and tricks that we’ve used to achieve greater than 90% escape rate on the almost 300 rooms that we’ve played. Here are 15 escape room tips and tricks you should know before entering into one.

1. What the hell a room escape is

If you’re unfamiliar with escape room tips and tricks, you should start by checking out our “What is a room escape” post. It should answer all of your questions… And probably a few you didn’t think to ask.

2. They’re usually hard… You’ll probably lose

Most of these games are challenging… That’s part of what makes them fun. So many things in this world are rubberized and give out participation medals; it’s fun to do something where it is likely that you won’t succeed, but you’ll still have fun.

3. It’s all about the people you play with

You can win or lose these games before they start, just based on your team. You need a good mix of smart people who are packing different kinds of smart. More often than not, a group consisting of a talented artist, writer, programmer, and salesperson will be more successful than a group of colleagues who all do the same thing… Regardless of how brilliant they are. You’re also going to need people who can work well together, that’s one of the best escape room tips and tricks. Leave crazy friends who must be the center of attention at home.

4. You can’t overdress for an escape game

As far as I know, there is no such thing as a fancy room escape. You might find yourself crawling on the floor. Dress comfortably, and wear comfy shoes; you might be crawling on the floor.

5. Pre-game over caffeine

At The Great Escape, the team is made to sit and discuss before they enter the room so they have ample time to prepare. The escape room team will guide you and brief you before you enter the game. These escape room tips and tricks will help you to learn about the structure of the room and the basic guidelines to follow.

6. Dive in

When you enter the game, start playing: Search things, open things, move things, look for anything that could be even remotely interesting or unusual. If you’re standing there with your hands in your pockets staring at other people playing the game, then you’re doing it wrong. Go on… Have some fun.

7. Get ready for challenges

Any good escape room is going to test your creativity and persistence. You’ll have to think outside of the box. You’ll have to work together. And you’ll have to do it all while racing against the clock. Trust us, your adrenaline will be pumping by the end of the game!

8. Secrets are no fun

Especially when you’re playing a team game. Seriously, you win and lose with your team. The guy (and it’s always a guy) who thinks he can “win” more than his team can is insane.

9. For 1 hour, your pockets don’t exist

Pockets are great! They are super useful, and they store things that we need but don’t want to hold. And you need to forget they exist for the hour that you’re in a room escape. If you put something important in your pocket and forget that it’s there, your team will never escape, and that is a lame way to lose.

10. Don’t be a barbarian

This should go without saying, but someone put hard work and money into that room escape that you’re playing; treat it accordingly.

11. Don’t be shy

Quiet people have just as much to offer as the loud ones… But you’re going to need to speak up; it doesn’t matter if you have the right answer if it isn’t applied (this is a good life lesson).

12. Shut up and listen

Loud folks like me need to try shutting the hell up. Being loud doesn’t make you correct. Let everyone else speak (also a good life lesson).

13. Try obvious answers before doing weird stuff

If you’ve solved a puzzle (or think you’ve solved one), try the solution you have before you start trying to apply strange logic to it. A good room has substantial cause and effect chains; don’t overthink it. That’s a fast way to get yourself into trouble.

14. Surrender to the experience

A room escape is a game, and if you aren’t going to allow yourself to have fun… Then you won’t. And you’ll probably ruin someone else’s time. If you’re the type of snarky jackass who can’t surrender to the experience, do everyone a favor and stay home.

15. Celebrate with your people

However, the game plays out, go out as a team, have a drink, and share your experiences with your friends.

A room escape is best when shared with people you care about. The Great Escape is a literal description of a complicated endeavor. The versatility of themed mystery games like The Nizami Loot, The Pirate Chest, The Haunted Hour, The Crime Scene Investigation gift you with a whole lot of novel experiences in just 60 mins. Each room gives you a unique experience which makes your mind blow.